Uniformed Services University (USU) Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2): Predictive Factors of Student Success

Abstract

The Uniformed Services University (USU) created the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2) in 2014 with the goal of diversifying their student body. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether certain independent variables (gender, age, race/ethnicity, underrepresented in medicine (URM) status, years of military service, military specialty (medical related), ESL status, Pell grant, parental income, father’s education, mother’s education, SAT/ACT score, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate science GPA, graduate GPA, and baccalaureate major) predict medical student performance on the MCAT. The study also assessed the differences in the independent factors in those who completed EMDP2, enrolled in medical school, and graduated from medical school. This retrospective comparative cross-sectional study examined eight successive cohorts of students enrolled in EMDP2 from 2014-2021. The study examined the data from all participants (n=163) to determine if there are any significant predictive factors of academic success. Multiple linear regression showed that SAT/ACT scores contribute the most to the prediction of success on MCAT performance, followed by race/ethnicity, father’s education, ESL status, and underrepresented in medicine status. The students who completed EMDP2 and did not enroll in medical school had increased age compared to those who enrolled in medical school; they also had lower undergraduate GPA, lower graduate GPA, and lower MCAT scores. The students that graduated medical school tended to be younger when compared to those who did not graduate medical school, but there was no statistical significance regarding years of military service, SAT/ACT score, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate science GPA, graduate GPA, or MCAT score. Finally, there was no statistically significant difference between those who graduated medical school and those who did not based on their URM status.